The 2026 Sacks Conversation
The Responsibilities and Challenges of our Time
November 2026
On Monday 9 November 2026, The Jonathan Sacks Institute Prize will be awarded to
Dr. Deborah Lipstadt at Bar Ilan University.
To mark this special occasion, and to commemorate Rabbi Sacks’ 6th yahrzeit, Dr. Deborah Lipstadt will engage in conversation with Professor Jonathan Rynhold Academic Director of the Jonathan Sacks Institute at Bar-Ilan University.
Together they will explore ideas, responsibility, and the challenges of our time.
Location: Wohl Convention Center, Bar-Ilan University
Date: 9 November 2026
Time: 8.00pm
Tickets will be available here soon
Featuring
Dr. Deborah Lipstadt
Dr. Deborah Lipstadt is the former United States Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Antisemitism. Currently she is Dorot Professor of Modern Jewish History and Holocaust Studies at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia. She has faced leading Holocaust-deniers and been vindicated in court.
Dr. Lipstadt is the author of several other books on the Holocaust, including ‘The Eichmann Trial’ and ‘Antisemitism: Here and Now’.
Prof. Jonathan Rynhold
Prof. Jonathan Rynhold holds the position of Academic Director of the Jonathan Sacks Institute at Bar-Ilan University. He received his Ph.D. at the London School of Economics, and he special interests include Israeli-Palestinian diplomacy, the Arab-Israeli peace process, U.S.-Israel relations, Israeli politics and foreign policy, U.S. public opinion, UK-Israeli relations, and issues related to NGOs and BDS.
Previous Sacks Conversations
Torah as Conversation
For the 2025 Sacks Conversation, we invited Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin, (the parents of Hersh Goldberg-Polin z”l) to sit in conversation with Daniel Taub. This event - in the presence of Chief Rabbi Sir Ephraim Mirvis - marked the launch of The Koren Sacks Humash. It was also a flagship event as we honoured the fifth yahrzeit of Rabbi Sacks.
The People of the Book
The 2024 Sacks Conversation was held at the National Library of Israel, commemorating the fourth yahrzeit and marking the dedication of the Rabbi Sacks Archive at the National Library of Israel. United States Ambassador to Israel, Jack Lew was in conversation with Rachel Sharansky Danziger.
An Interfaith Panel in Carnegie Hall
The Sacks Conversation 2023 event in Carnegie Hall in New York kept in mind the theme of To Heal A Fractured World. It showcased an interfaith panel with Cardinal Timothy Dolan, Imam Abdullah Antepli, and Rabbi Dr. Meir Soloveichik, chaired by the President of Yale University.
President Isaac Herzog in conversation with Dr. Erica Brown
On 13 September 2022, the second annual Sacks Conversation took place at the President’s Residence in Jerusalem between President Isaac Herzog and Dr. Erica Brown, Director of the Sacks-Herenstein Center at Yeshiva University.
Tony Blair in conversation with Matthew d’Ancona
The Rt. Hon Tony Blair and Matthew d’Ancona launched the Sacks Conversation at Spencer House, London, on 11 October 2021. They discussed the continuing impact of Rabbi Sacks’ teachings and ideas on public policy and society today.